Friday, 27 February 2015

Present - DOOM Götter REVIEW

Metal Monkey here, back (finally!) with a review of an
exciting new line of mini-figures called DOOM Götter
(or Doom gods) by Imperfecz Toys and Ironhaus Prods.

And let me tell you, these figures are
nothing short of amazing!

Here we have some background on the story
behind DOOM Götter, sourced directly from the Imperfecz
store.

‘In another dimension, all
the creatures of mythology, ghosts, monsters, spirits from this world exist as
monolithic kaiju-like creatures. Massive, building destroying, creatures
battling within the city!

This first release dips
into Yokai lore’

So, Doom Götter
essentially is a blend between Japanese Yokai folklore & the Dai Kaiju
creatures from films and TV with mini-figures much like Keshigomu in Japan. We
get the hint that future series may not be based on Yokai creatures, but the
Dai Kaiju theme seems to be the predominant feature of this line.

First up, we have two figures on offer, namely
Akaname & Bake-Kujira.

The contents of two individual packs, Akaname & Bake-Kujira with come with 2 buildings included per pack.

The figures themselves are cast of a
pliable rubber, somewhat softer than even Monster In My Pocket, and have a very
nice feel to them.

The buildings are cast of a more sturdier
resin and seem to have a much more inorganic feel to them then the figures do,
which is a really nice idea and contrasts perfectly with the figures
themselves.

Bake-Kujira – Standing in around 1” tall and sculpted by none other than Jimmy
Rommel of Ironhaus Prods. Bake-Kujira is a monstrous whale kaiju that
looksdecayed, with his skeleton clearly
visible. Bake or Bakemono (化物) is the Japanese word for 'Ghost' and
Kujira (クジラ) translates
as 'whale', so we get Ghost-Whale; a reanimated skeletal specter of a deceased
whale.

Back view of the two figures.

Akaname – weighing in at 1.5” tall and sculpted by Luke Harris of Imperfecz
Toys, Akaname (あかなめ) translates
to mean ‘filth licker’ and upon reading of this creature for the first time,
one can’t help but cringe at what one learns. It has a gaping tongue that it
uses to consume slime, mold, human waste… yep, this thing is gross and that’s
what makes it really awesome! Its naked, and has a mop of hair from the top of
it’s head with no eyes visible, making it rely on using it’s tongue to
navigate. Creepy, and yet so good at the same time!

Buildings - In addition to these two
mini-figures, there are buildings available for purchase separately in either 5
or 10-packs, perfect for building your own little city for these (and even
other) awesome minis to play around in or display.

10-pack of buildings.

I picked up a 10-pack and it did not
disappoint! This is a really original and novel way of making mini-figures even
more fun, and really adds the neat element of representing the mini-figures as
Dai Kaiju, or monolithic, collosal beasts! The proportions are really spot-on,
and immediately one gets a real proportionate sense of their size simply by to
the buildings surrounding them.

What’s great about these is that some of
the buildings are intact, whereas others have been crushed/smashed by the Dai
Kaiju in battle, and have a ruined, dilapidated look to them. You would have to
be out of your mind not to appreciate having a mini semi-destroyed cityscape
diorama for your mini-figures. It’s just such
a good idea, and adds a lot of fun!

Packaging for individual figure packs.

Packaging – Exactly what you would expect from
this sort of thing, the figures come individually bagged, as do the 2 buildings
that come included with each figure (Brilliant!) complete with a header card.
The header card itself is quite simplistic, and has a fair bit of punch as the
colors make it pleasing to the eye.

Works well.

Pricing
– This is where it gets good, toy people. The pricing
on these guys is really modest and affordable, so you can pick up figures in
multiple colors and/or some extra buildings to add to your city.

Bake-Kujira retails for $10 per-pack, Akaname
costs $12 each. (USD)

Buildings are available in 5-packs for $10 ea, and 10-packs for $18 each.
(USD)

Another added feature to the figures, is
that for an additional $1 per figure
you can give your mini-figures a makeover with a BLACK WASH to really bring out all the amazing details
from each figure. I’m so glad I chose this option, as the figures themselves
look incredible with the two-tone effect as you can see by the pics.

Shipping
–I live in Australia,
and these figures are made in the US. I’ve often paid exorbitant prices on
shipping for items to and from Oz from ebay and some online stores but Doom
Götter ships at a really nice low flat-rate internationally, so I was stoked to
be able to get more buildings as it cost me less to have it shipped here. I
could only imagine local shipping to be even less! Excellent.

Sculpts- The sculpts themselves are really
clean, and overall very nice! The textures are what you would expect for bones,
skin, teeth and hair, etc. and really bring the figures to life. They aren’t
saturated in too much detail and there seems to be a good balance of
detail/simplicity. The proportions are fun and in the end these figures are
quite charming, regardless of being creepy creatures.

Two colossal beasts meet in battle amid a ruined city

TowPlayability/Display – Bonus points for playability! The
added buildings that make up the mini cityscape diorama really add a HUGE
amount of fun for these figures.
Whereas stand-alone figures display okay on their own, these have much more
playability value to them. They also add more playability to your other
mini-figures, as you’ll want to take your favorite figure to take a stroll
downtown and lay waste to both the city and anyone foolish enough to get in
your way! (Insert random monster noises here).

Needless to say, they display great! You
can custom build your own city based on how much display space you have, which
is useful if you’ve got little space available.

Availability – These have been available for a few
weeks as of writing this blog review. Some colors are completely sold out, but
there are still a nice variety to choose form. Check out the Imperfecz online
store HERE! The only place you can pick these up as of now.

Who will walk away the victor?

Conclusion – Simply awesome!! DOOM Götter has practically instantly shot up to being one of my favourite indie
toy lines ever, possibly rivaling Universe
of Violence for my top spot, which is no easy feat. As a huge fan of the
Dai Kaiju genre and folklore/mythology, as well as mini-figures in general,
this just ticks all the boxes for me! I’m giving it an overall 9.5/10 and two HUGE thumbs up.

If you're into mini-figures then show some
support by picking up some Doom Götter figures! You won't be disappointed, I promise you, and by getting behind this amazing new line we can expect to get more future releases of these badass beasties!

I would love to see some tiny Ships,
Trucks, Tanks, hell even a railway
made available in future releases, in addition to other new monstrous creatures
of course!

Excited to see where DOOM Götter goes from here, watch this space
for future news and reviews.